Davidson Is Changing Blues' Tune

During the late 1970's, goaltender John Davidson was one of the Rangers' most popular players. He backstopped them all the way to the Stanley Cup finals in 1979 while playing on an injured left knee, a performance that earned him legendary status amongst the Blueshirts' loyal fan base. And though injuries forced him to retire at age 30, Davidson's popularity only grew as the years went by; for 20 years, he delivered insightful color commentary on the MSG Network's Rangers broadcasts.

Throughout much of Davidson's tenure as the Rangers' color commentator, it was speculated that he would one day take over the operations of the hockey club. But the opportunity to do so didn't come from the Rangers; instead, it was the St. Louis Blues who gave him the reins. (Not coincidentally, this is the team for which Davidson played before joining the Rangers in 1975).

Last season was Davidson's first as the Blues' team president, and he was inheriting no easy task. In 2005–06, the Blues finished with only 21 victories, the third-worst performance in franchise history. Considering that the Blues were part of the NHL's original expansion in 1967 — and that their 2005–06 win total was padded somewhat due to the shootout — it made the perennial playoff contender's atrocious performance all the more remarkable.

In the 17 months that have passed since Davidson took over, the Blues' turnaround has been nothing short of sensational. A combination of shrewd drafting and strategic trading quickly restocked the organizational cupboard, and last summer the Blues' foray into unrestricted free agency landed two players who have been critical to their turnaround, Paul Kariya and Keith Tkachuk.

Davidson's Blues are holding steady in fifth place in this week's power rankings, and they are a key reason why the Central Division is no longer a feeding ground for the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators. In fact, that division might now be the NHL's most competitive. Meanwhile, four of the bottom nine teams in this week's Power Rankings reside in the Southeast Division, a decisive sign that it is now the league's most downtrodden.

Statistically, teams are measured from left to right by won-loss record, standings points, goals scored, goals allowed, power play success, and penalty-killing success. Please note that the data is up to and including games played on Tuesday night, and that our statistics for special teams effectiveness also take shorthanded goals into account. Each team's ranking from last week appears in parentheses

1 DETROIT RED WINGS (1): Chris Osgood never got the respect he deserved when backstopping the Wings to the Cup in 1998, making the re-emergent netminder's spectacular 14–1–1 start even sweeter redemption.
REC PTS GS GA PP% PK%
22–6–2 46 101 65 17.45% 88.00%

2 OTTAWA SENATORS (2): His first season in Ottawa was maddeningly inconsistent, but rearguard Joe Corvo has improved by leaps and bounds this year, leading the Sens' rearguards in plus-minus (plus-12) while delivering a valuable offensive contribution.
18–7–3 39 91 74 17.89% 87.79%

3 SAN JOSE SHARKS (6): Youngsters Christian Ehrhoff and Matt Carle were expected to quarterback the power play, but it's instead been veterans Craig Rivet and Sandis Ozolinsh manning the point on the Sharks' first unit.
16–9–4 36 74 62 13.87% 90.27%

4 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (7): The Flyers' rivalry with the Penguins went to a new level on Tuesday night, when the teams racked up 156 minutes in penalties. Paced by hat tricks from Joffrey Lupul and R.J. Umberger, the Flyers trounced Pittsburgh 8–2.
16–10–2 34 89 75 21.64% 83.21%

5 ST. LOUIS BLUES (3): With 18 goals in 28 games, Brad Boyes has been a pleasant surprise on the Blues' top line alongside Keith Tkachuk and Paul Kariya, but his 26.5% shooting percentage is a strong indication that he's unlikely to maintain that torrid pace.
16–10–2 34 75 72 11.57% 88.55%

6 BOSTON BRUINS (8): The injury bug has bitten the Bruins hard, particularly in goal, with both Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez out indefinitely. But rookie Tuukka Rask and new acquisition Alex Auld have been quite solid, enabling Boston to continue winning.
16–10–3 35 76 71 16.19% 77.31%

7 VANCOUVER CANUCKS (10): Goaltender Roberto Luongo is the league's most valuable player, and if his rib injury takes him out of the lineup for a considerable length of time, look for the Canucks to slip quickly in the standings.
16–11–3 35 80 69 17.11% 84.67%

8 NEW JERSEY DEVILS (13): Backup netminder Kevin Weekes has actually posted a higher save percentage (.919) than Martin Brodeur (.912). Playing Weekes more often — to preserve Brodeur for the playoffs — would be a wise move by head coach Brent Sutter.
16–11–3 35 75 71 13.18% 80.99%

9 DALLAS STARS (5): Mike Modano scored 10 of his 19 points in an eight-game stretch in November, and that inconsistency (combined with his team-worst minus-10 ratings) are two key indicators that his stellar career is nearing its inevitable conclusion.
16–11–4 36 88 81 20.00% 91.18%

10 COLORADO AVALANCHE . (15): Peter Budaj and José Théodore have both struggled mightily of late, a sure sign that the Avs' problem lies beyond the goal. Scott Hannan (minus-14 rating), expected to be a stopper on the blue line, has been anything but.
16–12–1 33 89 87 15.56% 82.76%

11 NEW YORK RANGERS (11): Sparkplug Sean Avery recovering from wrist surgery, has begun skating again, but is still about a week away from returning to the lineup; the Rangers are clearly hoping that he will have the same positive effect he did when he was acquired last spring.
16–12–2 34 64 63 13.51% 88.71%

12 MINNESOTA WILD (4): After briefly showing signs that they were emerging as a more offensively oriented team, the Wild are back to their old ways and are struggling to score. In their past five games, they've only managed to light the lamp a paltry six times.
16–12–2 34 73 76 13.24% 83.46%

13 CAROLINA HURRICANES (9): By a wide margin, ageless center Rod Brind'Amour has won more faceoffs (455) than any other player in the NHL, and his 57.1% success rate is fourth-best in the NHL amongst players with 200 or more faceoff wins.
16–12–3 35 98 93 18.87% 75.34%

14 MONTREAL CANADIENS (16): Last season, the Habs were constantly maligned for their failure to acquire a second-line center, but this year, Thomas Plekanec has actually surpassed Saku Koivu as the team's most productive pivot (23 points in 30 games).
14–11–5 33 83 84 23.78% 81.10%

15 NASHVILLE PREDATORS (14): Anonymous rearguard Greg Zanon leads the Preds in both hits and blocked shots; by providing a physical, determined presence in the defensive zone, he has made life far easier between the pipes for Chris Mason and Dan Ellis.
14–12–2 30 79 82 9.77% 84.80%

16 NEW YORK ISLANDERS (17): No NHL team has scored fewer goals than the Isles, largely due to the surprisingly miniscule contributions of usually prolific snipers Miroslav Satan (seven goals) and Bill Guerin (six goals).
14–12–2 30 62 76 11.90% 86.76%

17 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (18): Gritty veteran Michael Peca has been quite effective in his first season with the Blue Jackets, contributing offensively (14 points in 22 games) while winning 56.6% of his faceoffs.
13–11–6 32 76 72 13.91% 89.66%

18 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (20): A high ankle sprain will keep starting netminder Marc-Andre Fleury out of the Pens' lineup for 6–8 weeks; now Dany Sabourin, who outplayed Fleury for stretches this season, has a great opportunity to take over the starting job.
15–13–2 32 84 87 19.44% 82.64%

19 ANAHEIM DUCKS (22): Scott Niedermayer's return to the Ducks' lineup has been delayed, reportedly because the team needs to find a way to get under the salary cap, and the most-likely candidate to be dealt would appear to be defenseman Mathieu Schneider.
15–13–4 34 77 88 13.16% 83.06%

20 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (12): The 'Hawks' combination of experienced veterans and super-skilled youth has them back to respectability, but they're going to make a push for a playoff spot, they'll need much stronger play in goal from Nikolai Khabibulin.
14–13–2 30 84 82 16.92% 91.49%

21 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (21): Hulking forward Nik Antropov is breaking through, scoring at a point-per-game pace and finally making good on the enormous promise he showed against the Devils in the 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs.
13–12–6 32 97 97 10.64% 81.94%

22 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (24): Rumors have been circulating that the Lightning are contemplating dealing star forward Martin St. Louis to Dallas for goaltender Marty Turco, but a Brad Richards-for-Turco swap would make better sense for both teams.
14–14–3 31 91 95 19.38% 83.46%

23 CALGARY FLAMES (26): Tonight, the Flames will head to Tampa for the first time since they fell to the Lightning in Game 7 of the 2004 Stanley Cup finals. Unfortunately, neither team looks much like a Cup contender this time around.|
13–13–5 31 82 89 10.87% 79.02%

24 ATLANTA THRASHERS ( 2 5 ) : Claiming Mark Recchi on re-entry waivers was a shrewd move by GM Don Waddell. Clearly feeling slighted by the Pens' lack of faith in him, Recchi will fit nicely on the Thrashers' power play at a severely discounted price.
14–14–1 29 77 95 12.70% 80.77%

25 BUFFALO SABRES (19): The 31–6 margin of victory in the Sabres' last five games includes two lopsided wins and three ugly losses; they clearly miss the leadership and consistency provided by former co-captains Chris Drury and Daniel Briere.
13–14–1 27 86 81 20.33% 86.78%

26 EDMONTON OILERS (23): Shawn Horcoff has been excellent for the Oilers, scoring 33 points in 32 games to go along with a team-best plus-6 rating. Unfortunately, nearly every other Oilers player has fallen far short of expectations.
14–16–2 30 78 98 10.49% 86.11%

27 F LO R I DA PA N T H E RS (27): The Panthers finished strong in each of the last two seasons, only to fall just short of the playoffs; now only seven points behind the division-leading Hurricanes with one game in hand, they are without question within striking distance.
13–15–2 28 74 82 21.74% 82.35%

28 PHOENIX COYOTES (28): . Wayne Gretzky visits New York for the first time as the Coyotes' head coach this week, making stops in Uniondale (tonight), Newark (Saturday), and Madison Square Garden (Sunday).
13–15–0 26 67 80 10.71% 82.11%

29 LOS ANGELES KINGS (29): After scoring 10 goals in his first 10 games this season, Mike Cammalleri cooled down quickly (four goals in the 18 games that followed). With experience, Cammalleri and the rest of his talented teammates will become more consistent.
12–16–2 26 84 95 18.88% 82.20%

30 WASHINGTON CAPITALS (30): Alexander Ovechkin a season, but his supporting cast has been underwhelming, leading to speculation that the game-breaking forward will test the market as a restricted free agent next summer.
11–17–2 24 74 86 15.27% 83.57%

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.